Eberl G, Littman DR. Thymic origin of intestinal alphabeta T cells revealed by fate mapping of RORgammat+ cells.
Science 2004;
305:248-51. [PMID:
15247480 DOI:
10.1126/science.1096472]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 397] [Impact Index Per Article: 19.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Abstract
Intestinal intraepithelial T lymphocytes (IELs) are likely to play a key role in host mucosal immunity and, unlike other T cells, have been proposed to differentiate from local precursors rather than from thymocytes. We show here that IELs expressing the alphabeta T cell receptor are derived from precursors that express RORgammat, an orphan nuclear hormone receptor detected only in immature CD4+CD8+ thymocytes, fetal lymphoid tissue-inducer (LTi) cells, and LTi-like cells in cryptopatches within the adult intestinal lamina propria. Using cell fate mapping, we found that all intestinal alphabeta T cells are progeny of CD4+CD8+ thymocytes, indicating that the adult intestine is not a significant site for alphabeta T cell development. Our results suggest that intestinal RORgammat+ cells are local organizers of mucosal lymphoid tissue.
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